Medieval Royalty

Medieval Royalty were very important people who had a divine right to rule under the Feudal Medieval system, the only people that were considered to be above Royalty in Medieval times was the Pope/Church and God, and as the Pope was considered to be working for God, this really meant that God was the only person more important than a King in Medieval Times. The main people within a Medieval Royal household consisted of the King, Queen, Prince, Princess and Queen Mother, the King was usually the most important Royalty with the most power, however we can see by looking at history there were also powerful queens some of whom ruled with an iron fist, here we take a deeper look into Medieval royalty and how they ruled over their kingdoms in medieval times.

Medieval king Henry II was a Medieval king that reigned during the Plantagenet Period. Medieval King Henry II was also called Henry FitzEmpress. See more Medieval King Henry II History, Facts & Information. Read more about the King Henry II >>

A medieval kings main goal was to protect his kingdom from enemies and secure his domination of the Kingdom. Medieval kings built castles and introduced the Feudal system with this goal in mind. Read more about the Medieval King >>

A medieval prince had to learn the customs and duties that would be his when he was crowned king if he was the eldest son of the king. A medieval prince had to master weaponry, politics and understand political and social issues. Read more about the Medieval Prince >>

Charity work was very important to a medieval princess and she would also be interested in politics and current affairs. Medieval Princesses were often married of to princes of other important Royal families and had interesting and varied lives. Read more about the Medieval Princess >>

Medieval queens played an important role in medieval society, however most medieval Queens were not absolute rulers of their kingdoms as that role was dominated by medieval kings in medieval history. Read more about the Medieval Queen >>

Edward III 1312 – 1377 | 1346 – Speaking of the Black Prince at Crécy: “Also say to them, that they suffer him this day to win his spurs, for if god be pleased, I will this journey be his, and the honor thereof."

Medieval King

Medieval Royalty – Henry VIII was a Famous English King during the Tudor period

The King was the most important person in the Medieval Royal Household, it was his job to protect his land, wealth and family from people wanting to take it from him from within his own country and from other Royal families or wealthy people willing to invade from countries abroad.

Medieval Royalty were usually very intelligent, cunning and ruthless people and this is how they were able to become so powerful and wealthy. The Royal families realised that they could not rule and control so many people in Medieval society without the co-operation of others so the King was forced to give away part of his land/wealth to others in return for their loyalty, obedience and service.

This is how local Barons/Lords and Knights (Vassals) in turn also gained their own wealth and power in Medieval times although they did not have anywhere near as much wealth and power as the King, they basically provided the protection the King needed to rule and to keep others at bay as they fought off rivals and outside invaders for the King.

Basically Kings were like managers of a kingdom and were responsible for the effective running of the Kingdom, which included the efficient production of food, trading and the protection of the people within the Medieval Kingdom. Kings had to keep the morale of the people high by providing good living conditions and this meant making sure that the law’s and rules of the land were obeyed and upheld, they also needed to provide an environment in which farmers could produce lots of quality food and the Kingdoms tradesmen could produce lots of quality goods that could be traded.

Medieval Queen

A Medieval Queen was a very important person in the Royal household who’s responsibilities varied and were dependant on many variables. This could have been dependant on circumstances at the time or the Queen may have been given pre-defined duties to fulfil upon marriage

Some Medieval Queens would have been very involved in every aspect of the running of a Kingdom and in some cases this may have stretched to arranging battles and even commanding armies and governing councils amongst other things. Other medieval Queen’s may have taken more of a back seat role and been more concerned with bearing children for the King so that there was a successor to the throne, which was obviously a vitally important role as well.

The Queen was also usually required to show a strong interest in the Church and could have also been responsible for arranging Charitable activities in the Kingdom.

Sometimes a Medieval Queen would have to act as Regent herself in the Kings absence, for example if the King was needed to fight a war, this would have meant that the Queen had to step into the Kings shoes as a temporary measure to run the Kingdom and there are also other circumstances in which a Queen may have had to act as Regent, such as when a son was too young to rule for example or the King was sick and unable to rule.

Medieval Prince

A Medieval Prince would usually be the son of the King/Queen and would have been the next in line to the throne if he was the first born male in the Royal household, in this respect first born male Prince’s were always thought of as being the most important people after the King.

The First born boy prince would be raised learning all the skills needed to rule the kingdom and control a government if required. He would also usually be trained in the Art of warfare and be a skilled fighter in his own right. Most Princes would have to run their own Castles and Estates and this would give them a good grounding in Estate management and lay the foundations for running a bigger kingdom.

Medieval Princess

Medieval Royalty – Medieval Royal Crown

A Medieval Princess was expected to make the Royal dynasty stronger through marriage and as such they were raised expecting to be married off to Prince’s and kings of other Royal families or to the sons of other families that wielded power and influence that could deemed to be of importance.

As such a Medieval Princess would receive a well rounded education and were taught a wide range of skills such as sewing and embroidery. A princess would be expected to show a strong interest in religion and regularly attend Mass and pray frequently.

If a Princess became Queen through marriage she would obviously have duties that would be expected of a Queen such as an interest in charity work, bearing children and overseeing their upbringing and education and may have to act as Regent to her husband the King in his absence.

Medieval Queen Mother

A Royal Queen Mother was the Mother of the reigning sovereign in the Middle Ages. The Queen Mother still had various roles which were usually much reduced as the Queen Mother aged, but the Queen mother was an important source of knowledge and gave important advice to the King.

Were Medieval Royalty Good or Bad

The Medieval Royal Bloodlines ruled their lands well through a well organised Feudal structure, they were highly intelligent, ambitious and ruthless and controlled the population within a class system that they controlled through a network of Nobility and Military.

Without Medieval Royalty there probably would not have been so many advancements in society and there would probably have been more infighting amongst smaller groups of people within the Kingdoms.

However it has to be said that Medieval Royalty could be considered to have been greedy and mean spirited as they did not distribute much of their wealth to the people but spent their time building more structures to enable them to take more control of a countries wealth and it’s people.